Eternal Flame
by Cuda77
Summary: With all the darkness spreading throughout Remnant, Blake Belladonna wants nothing more than to keep the light of Ruby Rose safe and burning brightly forever. Cover art by kumafromtaiwan. (Ladybug/Black Rose)
1. Chapter 1

**RWBY and all the characters and settings contained within are the intellectual property of Monty Oum, Miles Luna, Kerry Shawcross and Rooster Teeth. I am not being compensated in any way for this story and am writing it purely for entertainment purposes. Please don't sue me over this; I just wanted to write something fun.**

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><p>It was a quiet weekend morning in the dorm room of Team RWBY at the Beacon Academy. Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee had taken Ruby's dog Zwei out for a walk, leaving Blake Belladonna and Ruby's half-sister, Yang Xiao Long, behind to relax. Yang was lying in her bed still trying to sleep while Blake sat in the bunk below her reading a book.<p>

Or at least that's what Blake was trying to do. However, her mind kept drifting away from the pages and to thoughts of Ruby. She had been on Blake's mind an awful lot recently and it was getting to the point of frustration for Blake. No matter what she tried to do, all she could see was Ruby smiling shyly or hear her giggles. But what Blake didn't like even more than her inability to focus was the empty feeling she'd get whenever Ruby wasn't around.

Blake had read enough romance novels (not that she'd ever admit it) to know that in all likelihood she had a crush on Ruby. But it was still an uncomfortable feeling for her since Blake had never really had the luxury of getting crushes growing up. Her entire life had been spent fighting in the heated demonstrations and chaotic riots with her White Fang brethren. The closest attachment she'd felt was to her mentor Adam but that was a relationship based more on dependence for the sake of survival. Blake wanted to be around Adam and to protect him for the pure sake of staying alive. With Ruby, it was about so much more.

Abandoning her book entirely, Blake stared at the underside of Yang's bed and zoned out. She really wanted to talk to someone about this but didn't want things to get weird between her and the team. Blake was especially worried about Yang and how she'd react if she heard someone wanted to be with her little sister. Having seen how deadly Yang was in normal combat, Blake didn't want to find out what kind of damage she could do when she had incentive to destroy. But all that Yang and the others had told her was that if Blake was stressed about something that they wanted to hear about it and help her. So, after taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Blake knocked on the wood frame of Yang's bed.

"Yang, are you doing anything?"

"Nope," the blonde replied.

"Can you come down here? I really need to talk."

Blake heard the bed above her rustling as Yang presumably untangled herself from her sheets. A moment later, Yang suddenly appeared at the end of the bed, dangling her head over the edge of hers and hanging upside down.

"What's happening, hot stuff?"

Blake was initially startled by Yang's sudden appearance but quickly narrowed her eyes in a scowl due to her ridiculousness. Yang flipped forward off her bed, landing softly on her feet.

"And, front flip for style!" Yang cheered triumphantly. Blake groaned and rolled her eyes as Yang strode around the edge of the bed and took a seat near Blake on the edge. "So, what can I do for you today, Ms. Belladonna?"

Blake opened her mouth to try to speak but could not manage to find the words she wanted to say. She cleared her throat and tried to find the best way to express this. Sensing Blake's hesitation, Yang switched herself from playful to caring and put a comforting hand on Blake's shoulder.

"Hey," whispered Yang, trying her best to soothe Blake's fears. "It's okay Blake. You can be honest with me about anything. I'm your partner and your friend and I'm here for you no matter what."

Blake smiled and sat up. "Thanks Yang. I was wondering if you could give me some advice? You see, there's someone who I really like. I mean, _really_ like. And, I'm kinda nervous about it since this is the first time I've ever really felt like this."

"Is it Sun?"

"No," replied Blake, shaking her head solemnly. "Sun is a really great guy and I know I can trust him with anything but I never really felt that spark with him like I do now. He's more like the brother I never had, kinda like how you're the sister I never did."

"I see," Yang said slowly, racking her brain for who it could possibly be. "Well, who is it then? Do I know them? Are they cute? What's he like?"

Blake nervously bit her lip and averted her gaze again. "Do you swear to me as a partner and friend that you won't freak out?"

"I promise," Yang answered, trying to keep her enthusiasm and excitement under control. "Now come on, spill it!"

Blake took one final steadying breath and warily glanced up at Yang, her excited smile straining with anticipation. Blake reached out and took Yang's hands in hers before she said quietly, "It's Ruby."

Yang's brain overloaded and her face went through several emotions in the span of a few seconds. Her cheerful smile first fell into a look of confusion before she fully grasped the meaning of Blake's confession. Yang's eyes widened in shock and she clapped her hands to her mouth as it fell open in a silent scream. Blake's eyes widened apprehensively as she watched Yang react, nervously wringing her now free hands together.

"Holy dust, are you serious?!" Yang gasped breathlessly. "Ruby? My little sister Ruby is who you have a crush on?"

"Uh, y-yeah," stammered Blake. "Is that okay?"

"Okay?! This is like the best news ever!" Yang whooped, bouncing up and down on Blake's bed in glee. "You have to tell me all about it! How long have you liked her? What made you like her to begin with? I mean yeah, I know Ruby is really cool and awesome and badass and pretty dang cute but still! Come on, tell me, tell me, tell meeeeeeeee!"

Blake couldn't contain a small chuckle at Yang's joy and she felt an immense wave of relief wash over her now that she knew Yang wasn't going to uppercut her into space for liking her sister.

"Well, those are definitely great things about Ruby. But what I like most about her is how pure and genuine she is. She's probably the best person I've ever met in my life. She always finds the good in people no matter what and accepts them for who they are. And all she wants is to make the world a better, more peaceful, more happy place."

Blake's gaze drifted from Yang and over to Ruby's bed as she continued. "I know that a lot of her desires for the world are childish and naïve but she believes in it so much and is such a good example herself that it doesn't matter. Her drive to succeed and to change the world is so inspiring and I want nothing more than to stand by her side and do everything I possibly can to make those dreams come true. I've already seen a lot of the ugly side of this world and the people in it but Ruby makes me believe every day that there is goodness in the world worth giving everything to protect and keep safe." Blake was unable to conceal a devilish little grin before she said, "Plus, she's got a really cute butt."

Instead of the raucous laughter she was expecting after her little joke, Blake suddenly found herself smothered in Yang's cleavage as the blonde hugged her tightly, sobbing her eyes out. "That is one of the sweetest things I've ever heard in my life," Yang blubbered thickly as her tears dampened Blake's hair. "I had no idea you cared that much. That really means a lot that my baby sister means so much to you."

"You're welcome, but could you please stop crushing my back?" Blake choked as the air was squeezed out of her by Yang's embrace. Yang released her sheepishly and dabbed away at her eyes as Blake regained her breath.

"Sorry about that," sniffled Yang, "I just got kinda taken off guard by all this. And I'm not gonna lie, I'm kinda jealous by how much Ruby means to you. But what did you need my advice with exactly? It sounds to me like you've got a pretty good handle on how you feel."

"But I don't know what to do about it now. I mean, this is the first time I've ever felt this strongly for someone so I don't really know what I should do. I've read enough books to know I shouldn't do anything drastic like Jaune did for Weiss but I still want Ruby to know how much I care and how happy she makes me."

"Hmm, that I really don't know if I can help you with. As far as I'm aware, Ruby's never really had crushes on anyone before either. So I couldn't tell you what she'd be wanting from a potential relationship."

"Oh, I see." replied Blake, sliding down a bit in defeat.

"I mean don't get me wrong, I know Ruby cares about you an awful lot. Like when you ran off that one weekend after that fight with Weiss, all Ruby wanted to do was to find you and make sure you were okay. And at that dance, the only thing she cared about at all was that you went and had a great time. So I know you're already very important to her."

Blake's heart swelled and she couldn't prevent a few tears from leaking out. Yang saw this and wrapped Blake in another, far more gentle hug than her previous one.

"My best advice I can give," Yang said warmly, "is just keep being you and being there for her. You're already a wonderful person and a huge influence on her life. And you're sexy as hell." Blake let out a snort of laughter at that. "So I'm sure that whenever her hormones kick in, you'll probably be one of the first people she's drawn to. I'm sure of it."

"Thanks Yang. I feel a lot better about this now."

"Anytime, partner. And hey, good luck in getting her. I have to say that you would certainly be my first choice for a sister-in-law someday so I'm pulling for you."

Yang continued to hug Blake for a little while longer until they were interrupted by the door to the dorm banging open. Zwei came bounding into the room while Ruby and Weiss squabbled about whose responsibility it was to clean up after Zwei. Yang gave Blake a wink before vaulting back up into her bed.

"What were you two doing?" Weiss asked, a few traces of her frustration still present in her voice from her fight with Ruby. "Is everything okay Blake?"

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," stammered Blake with a blush starting to blossom on her face.

"Blake's gotta crush," piped Yang in a singsong voice. Blake's face instantly went as red as Ruby's cloak as she quickly buried her face back into her book. Ruby let out an excited squeal and sprinted over to Blake's bed.

"Ooh Blake, who is it? Do we know them? Are they cute? What's he like? Come on, spill it!"

"Ruby!" Weiss shouted disgustedly, dragging Ruby back across the room by her hood. "That is Blake's private business. If she wants you to know about it, she will tell you herself but badgering her about it is incredibly rude! Honestly!"

Ruby got a sheepish grin on her face and scratched the back of her neck nervously. She mouthed a silent apology to Blake, who smiled at her and nodded in thanks. It wasn't often that it happened but Blake was extremely grateful for Weiss at that moment because Blake wasn't sure if she'd have been able to keep her composure during Ruby's pestering. Had Weiss not intervened, Blake would have probably let the truth slip and she wasn't prepared to let that come out yet.

"Well, now that we're all up and at 'em," said Ruby, climbing onto a chair for dramatic effect, "let's all get dressed and get some training done! The end of the term is on the way and we need to prepare to show all of Beacon that the best team in the school is Team RWBY! Banzai!

"Banzai," The other three replied cheerily. The four then retreated to the bathroom to prepare for the day's workout.

**_A few weeks later…_**

An airship sped across the sky as night was just beginning to fall in Vale. Blake hung out of the open door as her eyes frantically scanned across the skyline, searching for their destination. In the distance, the faint sound of combat and police sirens could still be heard but none of that mattered now. Beside Blake was Ruby, secured to a bed and unconscious.

"Come on, come on, faster damn it. Just a little bit farther. Just hang on, okay?" Blake muttered to herself. Then finally she spotted what she was looking for. "THERE!" she cried.

The airship reached the Vale Memorial Hospital and hovered over the roof. It slowly began its descent down but Blake was in too much of a hurry to care. She quickly had unfastened the small girl from the bed and picked her up in her arms. Blake then jumped the final few feet down from the airship and began sprinting for the hospital door the instant her feet hit the ground. Blood flowing out of Ruby began to stain Blake's combat outfit but all that mattered to her was getting inside. She burst through the doors and dashed to the receptionist.

"Please help," shouted Blake, trying desperately to catch her breath. "We have a critically injured student here! She needs immediate emergency attention!"

The receptionist quickly pressed a button and within seconds, a team of medical personnel appeared and took possession of Ruby. She was carefully strapped to a gurney and rushed inside. Blake remained out in the entryway and collapsed to her knees.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a few days after the attack on Vale that had injured Ruby. The White Fang had staged an assault on General Ironwood's armada in order to attempt to free Roman Torchwick from his imprisonment. The students of Beacon were called upon for reinforcements but they were not able to prevent Roman's escape. Team RWBY all sustained injuries as Weiss had her ankle broken, Yang got concussed and Blake had broken her hand and wrist after landing awkwardly on them.

But Ruby was by far the worst off after battling with the leader of the attack, Adam Taurus. Blake had attempted to intervene to protect Ruby but Adam was able to dispose of her and strike Ruby down with a charged slash from his sword Wilt. Blake had seen Adam destroy every foe he'd struck with that blow but somehow, Ruby managed to survive. She was still unconscious days later but had been stabilized so she wasn't in mortal danger from her injuries. Professor Ozpin then had her transferred to the medical wing at Beacon so her teammates and friends could visit her easier.

Blake had spent every possible moment with Ruby since the attack, keeping nonstop vigil by her bedside. Yang was there often as well but still would leave for classes and to return to the dorm at night for sleep. But Blake remained in the medical wing at all times, making sure Ruby was staying hydrated with IV drips, changing her bandages and reading books to her. She had even hauled a couch from the waiting area inside Ruby's room to use as a makeshift bed when she finally succumbed to exhaustion each night.

Late one afternoon, Blake had just finished eating the lunch that Yang had brought for her hours ago when Weiss hobbled awkwardly into the room. The heiress had scarcely been around since the attack, a fact that caused Blake a lot of annoyance. The hairs on the back of her neck bristled as Weiss struggled with the door and a book bag Blake recognized as hers. Finally Weiss made it into the room and hobbled over to Blake, who greeted her with a scowl.

"Nice to finally see you here Weiss," muttered Blake resentfully. "What do you want?"

"I've been asked to bring you all the work you've been missing since you refuse to come to class," Weiss said stiffly, depositing Blake's bag in the space next to her on the couch. "Speaking of which, Professor Goodwitch had said that if you continue with your truancy, you are in serious danger of being expelled. So please, come back to class before you're kicked out of here. This is getting silly Blake. Ruby will be just fine with the doctors here so there's no sense in just sitting here all day and getting into deeper and deeper trouble."

Blake suddenly had a pretty good idea what Yang's semblance felt like because every pore on her skin was burning white hot with rage. It took all of her self-restraint to not immediately tackle Weiss to the ground and rip her pretty face off. Blake rose to her feet, shaking with anger and glared at Weiss hard enough to make her wince and cower.

Blake growled, "Do you honestly think I care about my grades right now Weiss? When my leader is lying next to me severely wounded, you think I should go to class? Give me one reason why I should listen to you when you don't care about the well-being of your leader."

"Blake, I do care," whimpered Weiss as Blake fumed over her. She went to try to explain further but Blake threw her bag at her and had to dive to the floor.

"LIAR!" Blake roared at her, her patience finally snapping. "Don't you dare try and tell me that you care about Ruby when you have been here maybe twice to see her since she got hurt! She's supposed to be your teammate, Weiss! She's your partner, your friend and your leader for dust's sake and you just decide her health isn't as important as your grades! You know damn well that if it was you in this bed, Ruby would be in my position right now, keeping watch over you until you woke up!"

"Blake, please stop," cried Weiss, still on the floor and in agony as her dive had caused a fresh wave of pain from her broken ankle. "I swear I do care! Please, just calm down!"

Blake stalked back over the prone Weiss, ready to unleash more rage at her but then the door burst open and Yang ran inside, having heard the commotion. When she saw a furious Blake looming over a helpless Weiss, Yang's eyes immediately went red as she glared at Blake. Blake knew how dangerous that look from Yang was and immediately stood down and retreated back to the couch. Yang walked over to Weiss and gingerly helped her back to her feet and then led her out of the room. Once they made it outside, Weiss threw her arms around Yang and began sobbing.

"I really do care. I swear I do," she cried into Yang's shoulder. Yang hugged her closely and tried to soothe the heiress.

"Shh, it's okay Weiss. I know you do," Yang said to her as reassuringly as possible. "I know how much you care about Ruby. And Ruby does too. I don't know what Blake's deal is but I'm going to talk to her to get to the bottom of it. Are you gonna be okay?"

Weiss sniffled and nodded. Yang then helped Weiss hobble back to the dorms and made sure she was comfortable before heading back to the medical bay. Yang walked with purpose, still sickened by what she had walked in on. Yang knew Blake wasn't in a good place mentally at the moment but threatening an injured teammate like that was inexcusable no matter what the situation.

When Yang returned to Ruby's room, she found Blake lying facedown and sobbing violently into a pillow. As much as she wanted to tear into Blake for her earlier behavior, her caregiver instincts kicked in and she was immediately by Blake's side, trying to comfort her by rubbing her back. Blake flinched at the touch and Yang recoiled, not wanting to set Blake off again.

"Blake, what is going on? Why are you letting yourself self-destruct like this again? I know you're torn up about Ruby getting hurt but you need to realize this is not the one best way to deal with what happened. Please, tell me what's wrong before you hurt yourself or someone else.

Blake continued lying motionless for a moment before she reluctantly turned onto her side, her golden eyes red and swollen from her crying. "It's all my fault," was all Blake managed to croak out.

"What's your fault?"

"Why Ruby got hurt. It's all my fault. All I wanted was to protect her from the evils in the world. And instead, my literal demons come back and try to take her from me. I couldn't keep her safe from my past so there's no way I could possibly be good enough for her."

Blake's emotions began to well up again and a fresh wave of sobs burst forth. Without hesitating, Yang scooted closer to Blake and snaked her arm around to Blake's back. With her other hand, she grabbed onto Blake's healthy hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Blake buried her face into the sweater of Yang's uniform and cried her eyes out. After a few minutes, Blake had finally calmed back down, allowing Yang to speak.

"Blake, you know that's nonsense. You could not be more perfect for Ruby. Your ambition to protect her is a shining example of that. But we're huntresses Blake. We all signed up to protect Remnant from the dangers of this world so no matter what, Ruby's going to come face-to-face with it. And there's no way you can possibly stop that from happening. All you can do is be right there beside her and to take them out together."

"But I couldn't even do that, Yang," sniffled Blake as she rose to a seated position and hugged her knees to her chest. "I tried to stop Adam from hurting her and he wiped the floor with me. I know him and his strengths and weaknesses better than probably anyone but he still decimated me. I had to lie there and watch as he cut Ruby down. Can you imagine how hard it was to have to see that?"

Yang rose from the floor and sat down next to Blake, putting her arm around Blake's shoulders. "I'm sure it was awful. But look beside you. Ruby's still there. She's going to be okay. You said that you've never seen anyone survive against him and yet the exception to that is lying right there. Ruby was strong enough to survive and now you need to be just as strong for her."

"When I saw all that blood, I was sure she was done for. I can't lose Ruby, Yang. I just can't. I love her too damn much."

"I know you do Blake. I know you do." Yang hugged Blake tightly against her and refused to let her go again. The two sat like that for the remainder of the night and fell asleep in each other's arms, clinging simultaneously to each other and to the hope that soon Ruby would wake up and things would go back to normal.


	3. Chapter 3

Over two weeks had passed now with Ruby still in a coma from her injuries. Blake still dutifully remained by her side but had allowed herself to escape briefly to do things like make her own meals and, at Weiss and Yang's insistence, shower. She also had forced herself to relax a little more and get actual sleep, even though Ruby still not being conscious was worrying her. But she knew that Ruby's life was indeed safe and that all that remained was for her to awaken once again.

Blake was still refusing to leave Ruby's side to attend classes, though. She had her teammates as well as Team JNPR bringing her the homework and notes from her classes and she was doing all the studying she could. But Blake's lack of attendance was still causing strife with her and her professors. It finally got to the point where Blake was paid a personal visit by Professor Ozpin himself. Twilight was just beginning to rise one day and Blake was busy doing her homework when Ozpin strode into the infirmary with two mugs in his hand.

"Good evening Miss Belladonna," Ozpin said casually.

"Oh, Professor Ozpin, um, good evening," Blake replied hesitantly as she glanced up from her papers.

"Would you mind if I joined you?" Ozpin gestured to the spot beside Blake on the couch. Blake shook her head and scooted over to give him more room. Ozpin sat down and offered Blake one of the mugs. "A little birdy told me that you are a fan of tea. I do hope chamomile will suffice."

"Um, yes, that would be lovely, thank you." Blake took the mug and drank from it, still unsure what to make of this visit. For a few moments, the two just sat in silence sipping their drinks. Finally, Blake couldn't contain her curiosity any longer and cleared her throat to get Ozpin's attention.

"I appreciate the tea, professor, but I can't help but wonder what other reason you have for visiting me tonight. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes, actually there is Blake. I came here tonight to discuss with you a number of grievances I've received from the faculty over your truancy during the past few weeks."

"I see. Have you come to expel me sir? Shall I go collect my belongings from the dorm?"

"Quite the contrary, Miss Belladonna. I am not here to punish you, to threaten you or even to persuade you to return to your classes. I merely wish to hear from you personally your reasons for remaining here to tend to Miss Rose here."

"Is there any particular reason for that, sir?" Blake asked suspiciously.

"Mainly my own curiosity but it also would aid me in convincing your teachers why your absence is justified."

"If you insist, sir," Blake replied, hunching over and staring at the floor. "Where I grew up was quite dangerous. Growing up facing discrimination and violence for being a Faunus was unpleasant but one lesson I learned has stuck to me to this day. Under no circumstances should you ever abandon your leader. Trying to survive on your own is suicidal so you must always remain together and protect each other when in danger. It's easy to kill one person but it's much more difficult to take down multiple. And when one of you is wounded, especially your leader, you must keep watch over them and provide any aid you can so you will be back to fighting as quickly as possible."

"Hmm, that's very interesting. I can only assume that team-based mentality is part of what lead you to pursue Beacon for your huntress training?"

"It certainly was a perk."

"Very well. Now, are there any other reasons for your stay here? I merely ask because the more information you give to me, the more likely we'll be able to sweep this matter under the rug as far as discipline."

"Well," began Blake, her voice hitching slightly as she closed her eyes tight, "I also feel responsible for Ruby getting injured. The man who struck her down was a former partner of mine growing up. I attempted to engage him in combat to take his attention from Ruby but he managed to incapacitate me. And it hurts that one of the demons from my past has come back to haunt me. It's not fair that Ruby or anybody else here at this school has to suffer because of the mistakes I made before I came here."

"Hmm," replied Ozpin as he took another draught from his mug. "I can certainly appreciate your sense of responsibility Blake. But if anyone should bear the weight of blame for this incident, it should go squarely onto me. It was my decision to scramble the students to try and provide assistance and it was a mistake on my part. I did not anticipate the new recruits for the White Fang and it was foolish to put my students in that kind of danger. So I wish to apologize to you on behalf of your team that this happened."

"Is that why I'm not in any trouble with you Professor Ozpin?"

"Indeed it is." Ozpin rose to his feet and started making his way to the door. "Just do your best to keep up with your studies and I assure you that you are welcome to remain here with Ruby until she returns to us."

"I hope that will be soon."

"As do all of us. Good night, Miss Belladonna."

"Good night sir. Thank you for the tea."

Ozpin smiled warmly at her before making his exit. Blake took the final sip from her tea before settling herself back into the reading she had been working on.

Later that night, Yang was studying by candlelight in Ruby's room. Ever since her concussion, any amount of excess light had caused massive headaches for Yang and so she had taken to doing her work in the dark so she could focus more. Blake was passed out beside her on the couch and was using Yang as pillow for her legs.

Something appeared to stir from over by Ruby's bed and Yang glanced over. Everything went still again and Yang turned her attention back to her paper. Another minute passed and once again Yang sensed movement. She paused the Achieve Men album playing on her scroll and lowered her headphones, staring inquisitively over at Ruby. With her ears now unobstructed, Yang thought she heard a small whine.

"Ruby?" Yang whispered breathlessly. Another whine and Yang definitely saw Ruby's head loll over. As quickly as she could without disturbing Blake from her slumber, Yang disentangled herself and crept over to Ruby's bed. A moment later, Ruby sleepily opened her eyes. Yang clapped her hand to her mouth in elation and kneeled down next to the bed as Ruby blinked a few times to try and regain her focus.

"Yang? Is that you?" Ruby mumbled thickly, her mouth dry from lack of use.

"Yes, it's me Ruby, I'm here," replied Yang trying to hold back her tears of joy.

"Ugh, what happened? Where am I? What happened to Torchwick? Did we keep him locked up?"

"Shh, easy there little sister." Yang gave her hand an affectionate squeeze. "You're recovering in the infirmary. And no, Torchwick got away. But that doesn't matter right now. All that matters is that you're okay. How do you feel?"

"Like I got cut in half and sewn back together," groaned Ruby, looking down at the heavy bandages wrapped around her midsection.

"That's not far from the truth. You got slashed big time from this one White Fang guy. Blake must have known him from before because she said she'd never seen anyone survive that attack from him. So you're pretty damn lucky, sis."

"Forgive me if I don't exactly feel that lucky right now," Ruby grumbled before she suddenly realized she hadn't even asked about the others yet. "Speaking of Blake, how is she? And you and Weiss? Was anyone else hurt?"

"Yeah, we're all going to be on the shelf for a little while. Weiss broke her foot but she's still insisting on hobbling her headstrong butt to every class and training session. I got knocked in the head pretty good and got concussed. And Blake just broke her hand. She's sleeping right over there as a matter of fact." Yang pointed to the other side of the room where Blake was still sound asleep on the couch.

"She's sleeping here? Why isn't she In bed?"

"Blake has barely left this room since you got here. She's been here day and night watching over you, changing your bandages and all that. She won't even go to class or anything; she just sits here all day hoping you'll wake up."

"How long have I been out for then?"

"Just about three weeks or so."

"And Blake's been here with me the whole time?

"Yeah, she has. For awhile, she went into that really scary Blake mode where she doesn't sleep and gets real crabby. She's chilled out a little bit recently but she's still worried sick about you."

Ruby let out a deep, pained sigh and looked over at the sleeping Blake. Illuminated by the moonlight, Yang saw her sister's silver eyes shining and watched as a lone tear snaked its way down her cheek. Ruby's lip quivered and she bowed her head as more tears leaked out. Yang got off her knees and sat down on the edge of the bed to embrace Ruby as gently as possible.

"Oh, Ruby, what is it? What's wrong?" Yang asked as soothingly as she could. Ruby didn't immediately answer, opting instead to silently weep against Yang's shoulder. Yang had a lot of experience in dealing with Ruby any time she was upset so she immediately began softly rubbing Ruby's back and humming her favorite lullaby. Eventually, Ruby began to calm back down and pulled back away from Yang, brushing a few stray tears away.

"Sorry Yang," Ruby sniffled. "I just hate it when Blake is all stressed out and worried, especially if it's because of me. She's already had enough crap to deal with in her life and the last thing I want is to pile onto that. I appreciate that she cared that much but I just wish I didn't have to worry her so bad. I wanna make Blake happy and giddy and to love life, not make her sad."

"Ruby, you do make her happy. I know you do. She's told me you're one of her favorite people in her life."

"I know, I just wish I could really make her smile, that's all. Like when she was dancing and having so much fun at the Beacon Dance. I wanna make her feel like that always. Blake's done so much for me and I wish I could repay it and show her how much it meant."

Yang went a bit slack-jawed at that. That sounded an awful lot like a confession of more than just regular friendly feelings by Ruby. Did she have a crush on Blake too? Could they both be harboring romantic feelings for each other? Yang decided to investigate by giving Ruby's hair a playful little tousle and saying, "If I didn't know better, it would sound like you've got a crush on Blake."

"Uhh…" Ruby blanched and gulped nervously, taking a great amount of interest in a particular loose thread in the sheets. Yang's eyes lit up and she gasped in amazement while Ruby blushed crimson and slammed her eyes shut.

"Oh my dust, you DO have a crush on her!"

"Yes, yes I do," hissed Ruby, bracing for a barrage of taunts from her sister.

"How long?"

"Pretty much since we got to Beacon."

"And why didn't you tell me about it sooner?"

"I thought you'd make fun of me. And always be teasing us about it."

"Now come on Ruby," Yang said with an edge of disappointment and hurt in her voice. "When have I ever made fun of you?" Ruby looked at Yang and cocked her eyebrow at her, wordlessly asking if she was kidding. Yang shrugged begrudgingly and said, "Okay, fair enough. But still, I'm not gonna tease for having a crush on someone like Blake. I think it's so awesome that you like her so much and think you two would be really cute together."

"Too bad it will never actually happen," grumbled Ruby sullenly.

"No? I don't see any reason why it couldn't happen?"

"Besides the fact that Blake probably isn't into girls you mean? And even if she was, why would Blake be attracted to me? I'm just a skinny little pipsqueak who talks too much and eats a ton of cookies. Plus, she's already got a crush on someone, remember?"

Yang quickly thought of a lie to negate that last part. "I do remember, yes. But I have it on good authority that the guy is taken and she's moving on. But don't sell yourself so short there sis. You are super adorable and have such a big heart that I think you've probably got all sorts of secret admirers. I think you'd be exactly the kind of girl Blake would go for."

"Pft, don't lie to me now Yang."

"I'm not! And when have I ever lied to you or misled you?"

Ruby started ticking instances off on her fingers. "You mean like the time you told me baby oil was made out of babies?"

"Well, okay, there was that but-"

"Or the time you told me Zwei's fur was made out of cotton candy?" Ruby interrupted.

"Yeah, but-"

"Or the time that you told me if I stared at the sun and followed the blue dot that I'd find treasure?"

"Okay, I get it!" Yang blustered. "I picked on you when you were younger, yes. This is different now, though. Now I just want my sister to be happy and to have her dreams come true. So I think you should wake Blake up and tell her how you feel about her."

"What?!" Ruby squeaked, her cheeks flushing again. "Wake her up and tell her I'm crazy about her?! Have you gone mental?"

"I have not. I think you've got a much better shot than you think with Blake but the only way you'll ever know for sure is to tell her. You know how much she cares about you already so is it really that out there to think she might care for you that extra little bit?"

"I-I guess not," Ruby stammered, her heart racing in her chest. "But what if she laughs at me? Or thinks I'm weird?"

"Blake wouldn't do that to you. At the worst, she might not like you back but I'm sure she'd still be flattered. I still say you should do it. And even if you don't, you should wake her up anyway because she's be waiting so long to see you awake that I think she'd rather see you than sleep."

Ruby's skin felt electric as she sat on her bed hyperventilating. It was a good thing Ruby hadn't had any solid food for awhile because she was certain she'd spew if her stomach was full. There was no way she was really considering doing this, was there? But Yang sounded so sure and confident and not even she would be mean enough to toy with her on something this major. She must be losing her mind but she finally managed to whine out, "Okay, if you're really sure."

"Awesome," Yang said triumphantly as she stood up and started to gather her things. "I'm gonna go head to bed now so you two can talk in peace. I'll be back in the morning with everyone because they'll want to see you." Yang brushed Ruby's bangs away from her face and gave her a sweet kiss on the forehead. "Good night sis, and good luck."

Ruby merely whimpered a response as Yang headed out the door. She was so excited that she wanted nothing more than to do cartwheels all the way back to the dorm. But with her damaged head, she knew that wouldn't be the smartest thing to do. So Yang simply skipped cheerfully through the halls, thinking to herself in Nora's voice "This. Is. **_HAPPENING_**!"


	4. Chapter 4

The instant that Yang left, Ruby began panicking again. The little bit of confidence she had built up evaporated as her mind raced with doubt. Yang really must have gotten her head knocked loopy because this little scheme of hers was completely mental. There was no way she could honestly think this would work. All she'd end up doing is make a fool of herself and make things all weird and ruin everything.

_"Now wait one second here,"_ a voice in Ruby's head told her. _"Are you really freaking out this bad over telling someone how you feel about them? You've jumped out airships, faced off with Grimm and giant mechs and swarms of goons and even worn heels. You did all those things and never even considered being afraid. But this is too much? This is your breaking point? Pull yourself together Rose. Blake is one of the coolest people ever and she'd never try to hurt you. Get over there and tell Blake everything."_

Ruby clenched her fists together and grit her teeth. She could do this. This wasn't some giant battle where she could get hurt or killed, this was just telling someone how cool and sweet and amazing and cute they were. Adrenaline began pumping through Ruby's blood as she psyched herself up. "You've got this," the voice told her one last time and she knew it was right.

Taking one final deep breath to steel her nerves, Ruby gingerly disconnected herself from the various heart monitors and IV drips so she could slide out of her bed and scoot over to Blake. Her heart sank when she saw Blake's gaunt, exhausted face which was scrunched up as she slept, possibly in the throes of a nightmare. Ruby tentatively reached her hand out and brushed away the hairs that had matted themselves to Blake's forehead. Blake twitched slightly at the touch and looked to relax a bit, letting out a deep sigh. Feeling bold, Ruby leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Blake's forehead. Blake stirred again and her eyes slowly opened. Gold met silver for the first time in weeks as Ruby smiled at her.

"Hey," whispered Ruby softly. "I'm back."

"R-Ruby?" Blake asked, still unsure if she was awake or still dreaming. Ruby closed her eyes and nodded a silent confirmation to her. Blake reached her hand out and brushed her fingers down Ruby's cheek, causing goosebumps to erupt down the younger girl's back.

Without warning, Blake sprang up and wrapped Ruby up in a humongous hug that wasn't quite as crushing as one of Yang's specialties but was still excruciating to her damaged abdomen. Ruby let out a yelp of pain and Blake instantly released her, realizing what she'd done. Ruby massaged her aching ribs as Blake watched with a mortified look on her face.

"Oh, damn it, I'm so sorry Ruby. I wasn't thinking and was just so happy to see you awake. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Ruby winced as the pain slowly started to ebb. She glanced at Blake and when she saw how scared Blake looked, her ache in her heart overpowered the one from her wounds. _"Way to go Rose,"_ she thought to herself, _"you just got done telling Yang how much you hated worrying Blake and now look what happened."_

To try and make things right, Ruby climbed onto the couch with her back against the armrest and pulled Blake down to lie against her. Ruby slowly stroked Blake's scalp and Faunus ears to try and soothe her. Soon enough, Blake's tension melted away as she snuggled into Ruby's chest, listening to the accelerated beating of her heart. The two sat on silence for several minutes, just enjoying the feeling of being together again.

"Ruby," Blake finally murmured softly, "I'm so sorry for what happened. It's all my fault you got hurt."

"No, no, don't say that Blake. It was my fault. I charged in like an idiot against someone way more powerful than me. I should have let someone more experienced handle him but I wanted to be the hero so bad that it cost me. If anything, I should be apologizing to you for making you worry all this time."

"I appreciate that Ruby. But it's just so hard for me not to worry about you."

"Why?" Ruby asked before a thought crossed her mind that caused her to freeze up. She then whimpered, "Do you not think I'm good enough?"

Blake's eyes shot open and she craned her head up to see Ruby with tears in her eyes. She scrambled up out of Ruby's embrace and took her face in her hands. "Oh, no no no, it's not that at all Ruby. You're one of the most skilled fighters and leaders I've seen. No, it's something far more different than that."

"Well, what then?" Ruby sniffled.

Blake closed her eyes and took Ruby's hands in hers. "I worry that someday you may end up like me."

"But why?" Ruby asked, puzzled at Blake's confession. "You're one of the best people I know Blake. You're so smart and loyal and protective. You're someone I'd love to be more like."

"No, trust me Ruby, I'm not." Blake pushed herself back up into a seated position and kept her hold on Ruby's hands, staring at them the entire time she talked. "When I was younger, I was a lot like you. I wanted nothing more than to make the world a perfect place like it was in the fairy tales. I believed in things like honor and justice and heroes but then I had to see what the world really is like. I had to see and do terrible things and it killed my spirit and my dream. There is a lot of darkness out there Ruby and lots of bad people who want nothing more than to spread it as much as they can. And I don't want you to have to experience those bad things. I don't want you to lose your dream like I did. Because you deserve to have all your dreams come true."

Ruby's stared at Blake in awe after she'd finished talking. She knew Blake cared about her but Ruby had no idea just how much it really was. Yang told her stuff like that a lot but Ruby never really believed it that much since Yang was her sister and felt like it was more of an obligation than honesty. But Ruby could feel every bit of how much Blake meant what she said. It was the nicest thing someone had ever told Ruby in her life.

"Wow, Blake" Ruby said breathlessly, "that's so sweet of you to say. Do you really mean that? You really want all of my dreams to come true?"

"I do Ruby." Blake looked up at her and gazed into her silver eyes. "Every last one of them."

Ruby bit her bottom lip at those words. She did say that she wanted all of them to come true. Hopefully this wouldn't make Blake too mad but she just couldn't help herself. Ruby reached out with one hand and laid it gently on Blake's cheek while the other one rested on Blake's shoulder. Ruby then slowly leaned forward, her eyes going half-lidded as she advanced closer and closer towards her target. Blake's eyes got wider and wider in surprise with every inch closer that Ruby got.

Finally, Ruby closed the rest of the distance between them and her lips met Blake's. Ruby really hoped Blake wouldn't hate her too much for doing this but right now she felt too amazing to care. Meanwhile, Blake's brain was going haywire as she tried to make sense of this. Was she still dreaming or was Ruby really kissing her? But then her brain melted and she just went with it, grabbing onto the back of Ruby's head with her healthy hand and pulling her in closer.

Ruby lightly gasped in surprise that Blake was suddenly kissing her back. Blake buried her hand into Ruby's black and red hair and gently caressed her scalp. Her tongue slowly poked out and ran across the length of Ruby's bottom lip, seeking entrance. Ruby obliged and Blake's tongue slid into her mouth, drawing soft moans from both girls. Ruby's heart felt like it was going to pound right through her chest as her entire body began heating up. Every hair on Blake's body was standing up as her skin tingled from how incredible this felt. Both girls didn't want this moment to ever end.

But unfortunately it did have to once both girls had spent all of their breath. Reluctantly, Blake pulled back from Ruby and took an enormous breath of air in. She felt like she'd sprinted across the kingdom with no slowing down. Ruby also panted loudly for breath as she collapsed backwards against the armrest, gently pulling Blake down with her. She pressed her forehead against Blake's as she held on tightly to Blake's shirt, afraid to let her go for anything.

"Well," Ruby finally managed to gasp out, "there's one of my dreams that's come true.

"Oh wow," Blake panted, her chest heaving against Ruby's as she gulped down breath after breath of oxygen. "You have no idea how long I've been wanting you to do that."

"I think I have some idea," Ruby chuckled softly. Then her brain fully registered what Blake had just said. "Wait, you've been wanting to kiss me?"

"For months now," Blake purred out, opening her eyes to gaze at Ruby's beautifully serene face. "How long have you been wanting to kiss me?"

"Pretty much since the moment we got here. I started falling for you right after you came and stood up for me with Weiss. That meant so much to me that you would do that without even knowing who I was. You just did it because you knew how much it sucks to be picked on. That has always stayed with me that you helped me out when I was alone and scared. And I always wanted to thank you and show you how much it meant."

"I think you've done a pretty great job so far," sniffled Blake, unable to hold back a tear. It dripped down off the edge of her nose and plopped right onto Ruby's, making her face scrunch up. Blake laughed at how cute Ruby was as she wriggled her nose and kissed it right where the tear had landed. "And if you really want to show me, you can keep on kissing me like you did just now."

"It's a deal." Ruby then began peppering Blake's face with soft, tender kisses that made Blake go limp and sigh contently with every kiss. "So," Ruby asked, punctuating every word with another kiss, "how…long…have…you…liked…me?" Ruby finished with a kiss on Blake's lips before stoping so she could hear the tale.

Blake whined a bit due to Ruby ceasing her kisses and rolled over onto her side so that she and Ruby were curled up side-by-side. "I guess when I first really felt something for you was that night at the docks after Torchwick ran away. That was when I knew I could really trust you. Because you didn't see me as a Faunus, you saw me as Blake. It didn't matter to you what I was or what I'd done; all you wanted was to make sure I was safe. And since then, you've done nothing but show how good you really are. I've already seen the worst that Remnant has to offer but in you, I see the absolute best."

Once again, Ruby found herself mesmerized by Blake's kind words. She always had thought Blake was wonderful but hearing just how highly Blake thought of her just made Ruby fall for her even more. Ruby snaked her arms around Blake's torso and hugged herself against the older girl's body. Blake returned the embrace and snuggled her face into Ruby's hair.

After a long while in silence, Ruby heard the sound of Blake softly snoring. She glanced up to see Blake fast asleep, a peaceful smile plastered on her face. Ruby deduced that Blake must still be exhausted and had passed back out since she hadn't been sleeping for very long. For a brief moment, Ruby felt guilty that she had caused Blake to lose sleep but she had a feeling that Yang was right and that what had happened was all worth it for her. But even though Blake had fallen asleep, Ruby wasn't going to just leave her now so she grabbed onto Blake's blanket and pulled it up over the two of them. She then rested her head against Blake's chest, letting her heartbeat relax her to sleep as well.

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><p><strong><em><span>AN: Thank you so much to everyone who has read, favorited and reviewed my little story! I'm marking this as the end for now, but I may revisit this someday with more ideas. But for now, thank you again for reading this and hopefully I'll see you again for the next one._**


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